Bearcats battle Commodores in Liberty Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

12/31/2011 - Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bearcats of the Big East Conference and the Vanderbilt Commodores of the SEC will celebrate New Year's Eve in Memphis by butting heads in the Liberty Bowl.

Cincinnati closed the regular season with back-to-back victories to finish at 9-3 and clinch a share of the Big East Conference title. Unfortunately for second-year head coach Butch Jones and company, tie-breakers prevented the Bearcats from representing the league in a BCS bowl game. Still, Jones was named Big East Coach of the Year and has orchestrated an impressive turnaround, as the program managed only four wins in his first season at the helm. This contest marks the 13th all-time bowl appearance for Cincinnati, which has won six of its previous 12 postseason tilts.

"We are pleased to accept a bid to the 53rd AutoZone Liberty Bowl," Jones said. "It's a great honor to be part of a game with the prestige and storied history of the Liberty Bowl. We look forward to a great number of Cincinnati fans being behind the team and helping us ring in the New Year in Memphis."

Vanderbilt is under the guidance of first-year head coach James Franklin, and the fact that he has led the group to six victories after it managed only two last season is a tremendous accomplishment. He was recently rewarded with a new contract that both increased his salary and extended his tenure. Vandy has made only four previous bowl appearances, so this season's success is certainly noteworthy. The Commodores' most recent postseason contest was the 2008 Music City Bowl, and that tilt resulted in a victory.

"We are extremely excited and honored to be coming to Memphis and playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl," said Franklin. "The University of Cincinnati will present both a huge challenge for our football team and a great opportunity at the same time."

This game marks the eighth meeting between Cincinnati and Vanderbilt on the gridiron, and it is the first since 1994. The Commodores own a narrow 4-3 series advantage, and they have won each of the last three encounters.

Cincinnati senior running back Isaiah Pead was chosen as the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year, as he ran for 1,100 yards to go along with 14 touchdowns. Pead was especially impressive down the stretch, helping the Bearcats stay the course after starting quarterback Zach Collaros was lost with a leg injury. It seems unlikely that Collaros will be available for this bowl game, so Munchie Legaux figures to be under center once again. Legaux has only completed 47.4 percent of his passes this year for the Bearcats, who are far-less-formidable without Collaros. Overall this season, Cincinnati is posting 33.5 ppg and 393.2 total ypg, and Anthony McClung is dangerous at receiver.

The key to Cincinnati's nine-win campaign has been the play of the defense, which leads the nation in sacks per game (3.6) and TFL per contest (8.9). The Bearcats rank sixth nationally against the run, yielding a mere 93.7 ypg. Widely regarded as the best player on the defensive side of the ball for UC, senior defensive tackle Derek Wolfe was recently named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a Second-Team All-American. Wolfe leads the conference with 19.5 TFL, including 9.5 sacks. The Bearcats are yielding 20.0 ppg and have come up with 30 takeaways.

"After last year, it shows how hard we've worked," says Wolfe of the turnaround this season. "I think we have a great chance of winning this bowl game."

Challenging Wolfe and the defense will be a Vanderbilt squad that is scoring 26.9 ppg while racking up 342.8 total ypg. Of the 38 offensive touchdowns the Commodores have notched, 24 of those have been of the rushing variety, and Zac Stacy has scored 13 times on the ground to go along with his 1,136 rushing yards. Jordan Rodgers, the team's QB, is the brother of NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers. The younger signal caller has completed just 51.5 percent of his passes this season for 1,498 yards with nine TDs and nine INTs, but he does pose a threat as a runner (387 yds, four TDs). When Rodgers drops back to pass, he is usually looking for either Jordan Matthews or Chris Boyd. Matthews has racked up 722 yards and five TDs on just 37 catches, while Boyd has 404 yards and seven scores on 29 grabs.

"We'll be aggressive and we'll have some schemes like we do every week, but I don't want to have any more than we typically do because that's when you have kids playing tentatively and not playing fast."

Opponents are scoring 20.8 ppg against Vanderbilt, which is permitting only 324.6 total ypg this season. The Commodores are surrendering a modest 123.0 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.4 yards per attempt, and they have notched 17 interceptions as well to go along with 10 fumble recoveries. Vandy has done a solid job of pressuring the QB as well, notching 24 sacks to date. Chris Marve leads the defense with 84 total tackles, including seven TFL, while Casey Hayward has five interceptions.

Wwwcasino-trade NCAA Football Betting News

<< Motown harmony: Blues hope to solve Red Wings in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Blues are going to get back to .500 on the road, they'll need to find a way to slow down the red-hot Red Wings at home. They already failed in their first chance in doing so four days ago. Looking to avoid a seaso

<< Panthers seek rebound effort versus Habs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Panthers forward Matt Bradley didn't like how his club started its game last night against one of the top teams in the conference. Bradley and the rest of his Florida mates get an immediate chance to turn things around as

<< Quick-starting Canucks tangle with Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canucks got off to a quick start in a victory on Thursday, the same formula it used to defeat the Kings in a meeting last month. Los Angeles can hardly afford to fall behind tonight against a dangerous Vancouver club

<< Dynamic duo: Net-strong Bruins visit Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen said it took some time for him to get comfortable in his return to action following a layoff caused by a groin injury. Bruins head coach Claude Julien feels comfortable no matter who starts i

<< Avs hope to find road game in Giguere's return to Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - December was kind to the Avalanche at home, but the month's final day puts Colorado on the road against a team is has struggled mightily against over the past few seasons. The Avs face the Ducks for the first time this sea

Virginia and Auburn settle in for Chik-fil-A Bowl matchup >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This year's Chick-fil-A Bowl features an intriguing matchup between the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC and the Auburn Tigers of the SEC. The Cavaliers finished the regular season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the ACC's

Texas A&M takes on Northwestern in Meineke Car Care Bowl >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas A&M Aggies are set to tangle with the Northwestern Wildcats in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Texas A&M is playing in a bowl game for the 33rd time in its hi

Illinois and UCLA duke it out in Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten is set to square off with the UCLA Bruins of the PAC 12 in this year's Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. The bowl, formerly known as the Emerald Bowl, has a contract to

Yellow Jackets and Utes clash in 78th Sun Bowl >>
El Paso, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Utah Utes will square off in the 78th Annual Sun Bowl game this afternoon in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, are all the second ol

Former champ Lendl to coach Andy Murray >>
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Lendl, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, will try to help Andy Murray to his first major championship. Murray hired Lendl as his coach on Saturday with the 2012 tennis season set to start next

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards